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IWS Documented News Service

_______________________________

Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach

School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies

Cornell University

16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky

New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau

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PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS Second Quarter 2013, Revised (5 September 2013)

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/prod2.nr0.htm

or

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/prod2.pdf

[full-text, 15 pages]

and

Supplemental Files Table of Contents

http://www.bls.gov/web/prod2.supp.toc.htm

 

 

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased at a 2.3 percent

annual rate during the second quarter of 2013, the U.S. Bureau of Labor

Statistics reported today. The increase in productivity reflects increases

of 3.7 percent in output and 1.4 percent in hours worked. (All quarterly

percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates.)

From the second quarter of 2012 to the second quarter of 2013,

productivity increased 0.3 percent as output and hours worked rose 2.1

percent and 1.7 percent, respectively. (See table A.)

 

Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index

of real output by an index of hours worked of all persons, including

employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers. The measures released

today were based on more recent source data than were available for the

preliminary report.

 

Unit labor costs in nonfarm businesses were unchanged in the second

quarter of 2013, as hourly compensation increased at the same 2.3 percent

rate as productivity. Unit labor costs rose 1.5 percent over the last four

quarters. (See table A.)

 

BLS defines unit labor costs as the ratio of hourly compensation to labor

productivity; increases in hourly compensation tend to increase unit labor

costs and increases in output per hour tend to reduce them.

 

Manufacturing sector productivity rose 1.9 percent in the second quarter

of 2013, as output declined 0.6 percent and hours worked declined 2.4

percent. Productivity increased 3.3 percent in the durable goods sector

and 0.2 percent in the nondurable goods sector. Over the last four

quarters, manufacturing productivity increased 1.9 percent, as output

increased 1.9 percent and hours were unchanged. Unit labor costs in

manufacturing rose 2.3 percent in the second quarter of 2013 and decreased

0.5 percent from the same quarter a year ago. (See tables A and 3.)

 

Preliminary second-quarter 2013 measures of productivity and costs were

announced for the nonfinancial corporate sector. Productivity increased

3.2 percent in the second quarter of 2013, as output and hours rose 4.8

percent and 1.5 percent, respectively. Unit labor costs fell 0.9 percent,

as the 2.3 percent gain in hourly compensation was less than the 3.2

percent gain in productivity. (See tables C and 6.)

 

The concepts, sources, and methods used for the manufacturing and

nonfinancial corporate output series differ from those used in the

business and nonfarm business output series; these output measures are not

directly comparable. See Technical Notes for a more detailed explanation.

 

AND MUCH MORE...including TABLES....

 

 

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